World Half Marathon Championship

Less than two years ago I started running. On April 28th 2014 I ran 1.2 km in a time of 10:37; two days ago I raced against Mo Farah (and 12,000 others) in the World Half-Marathon Championship in Cardiff and finished in a time of 1:56:47

I find it interesting to think about this and to try to work out why I have achieved this at the age of 55. What was my motivation? Why have I not given up? Why have I kept pushing myself to achieve? Should I be proud of my achievement? And the broader questions such as, why do some people remain motivated whilst others stop? Why are some tenacious, and others quit when the going gets tough?

So I repeat my question; why have I kept going when I could have so easily given up? 

A Calvinist might answer 'It was God's sovereign will'  

An Arminian might point to the Protestant work ethic

A Charismatic might say that 'God spoke to me and told me to do it'

A Pentecostal might say 'Glory!'

A Quaker might stay quiet for a long time

Preaching

I came across this from 12 months ago

I preached in a local chapel this evening. A key question is why? Why me and why preach? No one opened the Bible to read the passage, no one seemed to really engage with what I was saying, nobody said very much afterwards. Was there any point in doing what I did? Did I help anyone? Did God speak into anyone's life? Were we just going through the motions?

But I love the church, I love God's people, I love God. I believe that the 'word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

But was my preaching the word of God?

Pilgrims in Culture

Christians have for centuries tried to understand their relationship with the world around them. From the early church period when Roman believers grappled with whether they should attend the Colisium; to twentieth century Christians deciding if they should go to the cinema. From third world disciples of Jesus working through the implications of ancestral worship to technological savvy believers deciding how to use Facebook and Twitter

Jesus said that we are not 'of' the world even as he is not of the world, (John 17:16) the Message translation puts it like this: 'they are no more defined by the world then I am defined by the world.' There seems to be two extreme reactions taken by Christians to this question; firstly to become so involved in culture that there is no discernable difference to the world around. The other extreme would to become so seperate from others that there would be no realistic hope of connection to those around

Christians can be seen to be embedded in the world but pilgrims in culture. We live lives that are fully human; with the same needs of food, water, shelter, relationships, etc as everyone else. However we are not just believers in Jesus but those who have 'Christ in you the hope of glory.' (Colossians 1:27) We are the same as everyone else but also different, we are ordinary but also extraordinary

Perhaps Jesus made it clear for us in how do decide to be in the world but not of the world. He said the following, 'As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.' (John 17:14-18) Living in the world as missionary agents will give us a very different perspective than believing that we are to simply to 'hold the fort for I am coming' to quote the hymn writer. One sees the role of the Christian as those who have a kingdom mission to transform lives, families, communities, nations and all of creation. The other views our role as simply to hang on in the midst of the battle until Jesus returns to take us to heaven

I know which I would rather pursue

The Rest of My Life

What do I want to give myself to for the rest of my life? I have a finite time, not an unlimited period, but an unknown number of years, months, days, hours and seconds. What will I do, where will I go, how will I spend my money, will I use my time wisely? What is the over arching purpose of my life that will give clarity to all the other questions?

Matthew 6:33 says Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness 

Sounds easy!

The Cobra Effect and Unintended Consequences for the Church

The term 'cobra effect' stems from an anecdote set at the time of British rule of colonial India. The British government was concerned about the number of venomous cobra snakes in Delhi. The government therefore offered a bounty for every dead cobra. Initially this was a successful strategy as large numbers of snakes were killed for the reward. Eventually, however, enterprising persons began to breed cobras for the income. When the government became aware of this, the reward program was scrapped, causing the cobra breeders to set the now-worthless snakes free. As a result, the wild cobra population further increased. The apparent solution for the problem made the situation even worse.

In the social sciences, unintended consequences are outcomes that are not the ones foreseen and intended by a particular action. Some of the unintended consequences should have and could have been anticipated but were missed due to lack of foresight, incompetence, wilful neglect or undue haste

Perhaps the likely consequences that result from a particular action have changed; we cannot presume that because consequences could sometimes be easily predicted in the past, that it will always be the same. Results that have been obvious and predictable for many years start to lead to totally different outcomes, this can be very difficult to deal with

This issue could help us to ask important questions about the church:

Could the consequences of building chapels all over Wales be that the church's approach to mission  has become static and fixed rather than mobile and outward looking?

Could the focus on church meetings as the way to preach the gospel lead to a church that expects people to come to them rather than to 'Go and make disciples of all nations'?

Could the desire to have equiped ministers actually end up with disempowered congregations?

Could the consequences of only allowing trained ministers to baptise and to take communion lead to the congregation never trying to obey the great commission?

The big question that follows is 'what can I do about it?'

Permanence and Change

On a train ride to Manchester earlier in the year I saw a huge warehouse, probable built in the nineteenth century, that had a huge sign 'Railway Warehouse' built in white brick as part of the wall. Clearly the builders, architects and those who commissioned the building never anticipated that it may one day be used for a different purpose. The way the name was built into the wall was perhaps meant to symbolise permanence, however with its change of use now stood as a reminder that 'the times they are a changing.'

As I looked around Manchester City centre, with all its large, modern buildings, it was clear that today's builders had a different idea. A good example is the newly built Co-operative head office, a huge building with a tiny sign above the entrance to the reception area. Everything about the building is big, from its large reception area to the huge, open sight of all the offices from the inner atrium. However the sign outside could be changed by two workers with a couple of step ladders and two screw drivers. Slight exaggeration I know, but you get my point! 

How do we guarantee permanence, is it possible. Is it right to even try? There is value in the consistency of some things; the beauty of a the view of Worms Head from high above Rhossili that can be enjoyed today more or less as it was one hundred years ago. The love between two octogenarians that remains the same over many decades. However there are other things that we are grateful of the change; who still wants to go to an outside loo in the middle of a cold winter's night? My trip to Manchester took four hours by train rather than three days by horse a hundred and fifty years ago

One of the challenges for the church today is to answer the question, 'what do we keep and what do we get rid of?' It is actually a question that each generation has had to consider in the light of their understanding of Scripture and the times in which they lived. 

I Want..

I want to be part of a people:

Made in his image

Displaying his character

Ruling the earth

And enjoying his presence for ever